


The Accidental Marriage

by afrocurl



Series: Accidents Will Happen [1]
Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Emma Frost HBIC, Erik is Crushing Harder than a 12-year Old Girl, Forced Marriage, Honestly Charles What Are You Thinking, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-06
Updated: 2014-01-06
Packaged: 2018-01-07 18:52:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1123181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afrocurl/pseuds/afrocurl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One wrong statement and Charles found himself preparing to be married. Only once the ceremony was over did Charles learn the truth nature of the marriage he had entered into.</p><p>Turns out, this marriage won't be bad in the end.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Accidental Marriage

**Author's Note:**

  * For [aesc](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aesc/gifts).



> Originally written in response to [this prompt](http://theletteraesc.tumblr.com/post/71303664487/trobador-theletteraesc-always-fucking), and originally posted [here](http://rozf.tumblr.com/post/71355938721/the-accidental-marriage). It has been edited from the original version posted there.

Someone - one of many someones - pulled at his hair as if the curls of brown were going to offend his new husband. 

He was going to have a Husband, capital H required. Charles Xavier, aide to Westchester’s peace treaty delegation, was to be married to Colonel Lehnsherr, head of Genosha’s secret service. Because of one fucking joke about thinking that Lehnsherr would be a good ride. Now, it seemed that everyone else was riding him (in ways he never intended) to prepare him for a wedding ceremony in front of Her Majesty Emma Frost, Queen of Genosha.

Another pull on his hair - harder this time - and Charles let out a hiss. “What the hell was that for?” he asked, though he doubted anyone would answer.

“Colonel Lehnsherr, like Her Majesty, has particular preferences regarding the people he shares a bed with; your hair needs to be a bit shorter, but not too short. Too much to pull right now, you see,” said a boy with blond hair and eyes that were icier than Charles’ own. 

There wasn’t an appropriate response to what had been said, without being more crude than Charles had already been, so he stayed quiet and watched in the mirror as a pair of boys cut away some of the waves and while someone else grabbed his hand and started to trim his fingernails.

No one had said a name when addressing Charles so far, and so he thought that none of them would give him a name. He thought it must be some custom of Genosha that he also didn’t understand. There seemed to be many of them now - including the inability to make jokes about the Colonel. He tried his best to forget about everything else and allowed himself to be pushed, pulled and pampered.

It felt like hours before all of the pain eased and Charles looked in the mirror and marveled at what they had done. He looked striking - at odds with his usual bookish deportment - his hair less messy than he normally saw it, his eyes brighter, his lips fuller and impossible kissable. He looked almost fit to marry a Colonel. His clothes even looked more stylish than usual, but not so far different from what he wore; the jacket and pants finer and more delicate than he had use for, but for a wedding, that was to be expected.

“You’re ready,” said the boy who had spoken earlier. “Now, if you’ll follow me, Her Majesty is waiting to take part in the wedding ceremony.”

*

The doors were closed when the boy stopped leading Charles forward. It was hard to tell what sort of spectacle was beyond the doors, and given the number of _faux pas_ he could have made, Charles felt it best to stand still and wait for directions.

He fiddled with the cuffs, and then with the hems of his suit jacket. He knew it was wrong, but his nerves were finally catching up with the severity of the situation. Straightening, Charles did as best he could to calm his nerves, focusing on what he was to expected to do on the other side rather than the here and now. He would not give in to fear at being married off to a foreign dignitary, just as he would not give in to the jeers and belittling he was sure his family would suffer without him present in Westchester.

Turning back to the here and now, in the grand hall beyond the doors, no one from Westchester’s delegation was present. His thoughts were extended outwards, and he stopped dead at the idea. Charles found it odd, but then he vaguely remembered a passing journal article he found about Genoshan weddings never having any outsiders present; weddings were only to be seen by Genoshan citizens, or those to become citizens by marriage. _Of course no one can be here,_ he thought before he heard a single low note of a piano from the hall and he watched as a door opened and he was pushed through it by the same boy from earlier.

Carefully, he walked down the aisle and tried not to catch the attention of his soon-to-be-husband, or his new queen. He found it difficult, because he felt another mind carefully trying to creep against his.

 _It isn’t polite to snoop_ , he said mentally, pushing back against the intrusion into his own mind.

 _And what would you call what you did a minute ago, Charles? My Colonel is not a fan of such impertinence_ , the voice added before Charles realized that Her Majesty was also a telepath.

 _Many apologies, Your Majesty._ He knew he sounded contrite, but there was nothing else he could do without ruining the peace treaty any further. He had already been forced into the service in order to keep the negotiations afloat, and if he backed out now, his friends would be ruined because they couldn't teach him decorum and when to keep his mouth shut.

She said nothing else as Charles moved towards Colonel Lehnsherr and a man with long curls where sideburns normally were. There was a canopy over their heads, with a cloth draped over it. Charles’ mind raced through all the facts he had learned and then remembered suddenly that Lehnsherr was Jewish. It must be a rabbi and a chuppah, but that was the least of the strange things he would see today: he’d be married in a matter of an hour and Genoshan for the trouble of his foolish mouth. He would have nothing else to do with the peace treaty, and no more to do with Moira, Hank or anyone else back home.

“Welcome,” the same man said. “We’re here today to witness the union of Colonel Erik Magnus Lehnsherr of Genosha and Charles Francis Xavier, Esquire of Westchester.”

The rest of the man’s words were drowned out by the beating of Charles’ heart. Only when he felt Lehnsherr put a ring against his left ring finger did Charles know the wedding was nearly over. But Charles had no ring to offer, if that mattered now. Perhaps there would be time for it later.

There was no time for him to even pledge himself to Lehnsherr, though he must have if this were to be legal.

“Now, in the sight of G-d I pronounce you husband and husband. Together please, smash the glass here,” the man said as he pointed to a cloth in between Charles’ feet and Lehnsherr’s.

With a quick glance at his husband, Charles readied his foot and in unison they smashed the glass.

He was married, now.

How odd.

-

Much like the wedding itself, the reception passed by in a blur of activity. He felt a warm hand on the small of his back as Lehnsherr led him in a dance and then later pushed a small piece of moist cake into Lehnsherr’s mouth to end the spectacle.

Her Majesty had said nothing, aloud or mentally, throughout the rest of the day and Charles smiled as politely as he could when it seemed appropriate as the room felt like it was coming back into focus, the minds around him less maddening as time passed. Guests were leaving tables slowly; a few stopped at the table, expressing best wishes for the marriage.

It was new - this married ideal - but Charles found that Lehnsherr was attentive and elated at the process. Had he found a man who would put up with his bookish tendencies as well as one who wouldn’t laugh at his inappropriate jokes? There had been no chance to talk to Lehnsherr at the reception, especially with so many curious onlookers, but with the room empty, Charles spoke.

“How should I address you in public?” It was a poor question, but a necessary question, all the same. He had never met Lehnsherr until the wedding, and no one in Westchester had said anything of the man who kept Her Majesty safe, aside from the fact that he was not to be looked at too closely or talked to without raising questions.

“Erik will be fine,” was all the reply Charles heard before Erik’s warm hand once again came to rest against his waist. “This way.” 

Feet moved as if on air, and in a matter of seconds - or so it felt - Charles was at the door to his new rooms, his new life. Erik made a small bow at the door and twisted his hand just so before the doorknob turned and opened.

He slowly walked inside and saw what was an almost perfect replica of his rooms at home. “How?” he asked, his voice cracking in shock. Erik followed him, and a shocked Charles realized that his new husband's mind was both anxious and excited in equal measure. Clearly Charles’ approval of the room was of some importance. Yet Charles knew he was of no consequence to most in Westchester, let alone Genosha.

“You have been on my mind for years, Charles. But with things as they were, I could not approach you as I should have,” Erik said, his voice low and his emotions earnest and overpowering.

A small gasp escaped Charles’ lips before he could respond. “You meant to court me, even though war raged?” At that, Erk nodded and then moved to stand in front of Charles. Even more so than at the wedding ceremony, Charles noticed that Erik was so much taller than he. Unlike then, however, the room felt alight with far more potential than he had imagined before walking in the grand hall.

Erik’s head dropped to be closer to Charles’ own and his husband let out a breath against Charles’ heated skin. It was as if Erik were testing the waters of what was appropriate for them as a married couple. With a small tilt of his head, Charles prepared himself for whatever was to come next. Erik’s mouth found Charles’ soon enough and if the idea of marrying an unknown man had frustrated Charles, kissing a man who had been infatuated with him for years was like allowing champagne to explode from a bottle - exciting, overflowing with bubbling emotions that had to be drunk in and devoured.

He let Erik lead the kiss, relishing in the idea of being wanted, being cherished, as Erik’s hands eventually ghosted along Charles’ clothes. It was difficult to pull away for air, but Charles felt dizzy at the adoration Erik chose to bestow upon him.

Charles had thought the entire idea of being married to this man as nothing more than an unlucky accident, and now he was finding that this man - Erik - had planned every detail. _How did you know I would make a joke about you?_ he asked mentally, content to respond to Erik’s ministrations.

_I didn’t, but it was easy for Her Majesty to make a comment that such a remark would require a wedding. She knew of my fondness._

At that, Charles pulled away from their kisses, and a small chuckle escaped his lips.

"You convinced the Queen to say we must be married?" Charles knew his voice was weak, but now he desperately wanted to know.

At first, Erik merely nodded as if that were all the answer he could give - but then he added, "It was the only way I knew it could happen. I hope this doesn't bother you."

It was Charles’ turn to shake his head in reply. “I like it very much. Now, if I made such an off-color joke, I should like to know if it is true.” Stepping back, he waited for Erik to move and saw a slow turn of his husband’s features that said he might not have been far off in thinking that he would ride Erik very well indeed. Erik’s face flushed, and his mind was a jumble of passion and adoration, as if he was looking forward to what was to come next.

Charles felt that Erik’s hands were no longer taking in the curves of his body and instead one was extended in invitation. There was nothing odd about what he suspected would be the rest of their night.

In fact, he was very much looking forward to the prospect.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to **ninemoons42** and **kageillusionz** for the beta and to Kage and Lou for some brainstorming help.


End file.
